Bittern (C) Tim Stenton
It is only now that the details of these targets are being discussed and the consultation has been extended until 27th June to assess how ambitious these targets will be. It’s crunch time for nature.
Unfortunately, the long-term target currently being proposed for nature’s recovery aims to have just 10% more nature in 2042 than 2030 levels – by which time the state of our natural world is expected to have declined even further.
This could mean that wildlife is less abundant by 2042 than it is now, after another decade of decline, and clearly falls short of the UK Government’s promise to pass on nature in better condition.
UK nature is already in dire straits. This country is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world: 41% of species are in decline and 15% at risk of extinction. It’s hardly surprising when you consider that 97% of lowland meadows – home to wildflowers, mammals and birds – have disappeared, as have 80% of heathlands – and rivers are in deep trouble too.
The new target that the UK Government has proposed is too weak and unambitious – England would have even less wildlife in 20 years’ time than the much-depleted state that we have now.
Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs for The Wildlife Trust says:
“At a time when we need to trigger a decade of nature restoration by setting high standards for the proposed Environment Act targets, current proposals mean that the UK Government’s clear commitment to leave the environment in a better state of the next
generation is in jeopardy. We’re urging everyone to sign our petition calling for stronger targets to put nature on the path to recovery before the situation gets even worse.”
Read The Wildlife Trusts’ briefing on the Nature Recovery Green Paper and Environment Act target consultations here.
Join our campaign for stronger targets to help nature recover here.
41% of species have declined since the 1970s plus 15% of species at risk of extinction, urgent action is required to stop hedgehogs, water voles, and red squirrels disappearing forever.
Wildlife losses also include the disappearance of 97% of lowland meadows that support wildflowers, insects, mammals, and birds (State of Nature (SoN), 2013, page 14); 80% of purple heathlands which are home to bilberries, sand lizards and curlew (SoN 2013, page 24). Rivers are in deep trouble too: in England, only 14% of rivers meet standards for good ecological status, much of this is due to agricultural pollution, causing 13% of freshwater and wetland species in to be threatened with extinction. Butterflies and moths have been particularly hard hit with numbers down by 17% and 25% respectively. Mammals also fare badly with more than 26% of species at risk of disappearing altogether. UK wildlife declines are documented in State of Nature reports 2013, 2016 and 2019.
